Broken
by xsetfirex
Summary: There is always the chance of a redemption, but you have to want it. Post-Finale.
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own Agents of Shield, even though I want to, in order to make sure that Grant gets the chance he deserves.**

**Authors note, Many really think that Ward does not deserve a second chance but I don't think he ever get a first chance so I am going to give him one. The characters are going to all be in this and the team will get more focus too. I am a Skyeward fan but right now I think neither of them can be together until Ward is emotionally ready and as of the finale he is not ready. **

**Broken**

**Chapter One**

The interrogation room was darker than usual. One of the lights was out. It was not been surprising given the state of the prison. It looked as though it would crumble at any moment. The painting was outdated, the bars rusty and the beds stiff and supplied nothing but a terrible nights sleep. It was also now home.

Grant Ward placed his hands together on the table and looked down at them, squeezing the bruising that was caused by a fight yesterday. He pushed down as hard as he could, willing himself to feel anything, pain, uncomfortableness. It was not the first time that he was brought into the interrogation room. Usually an Agents shield would grill him on hydra intel. He always said the same thing, which was nothing. He was prepared to do the same today.

The door opened and Grant looked up to find himself being joined by Phil Coulson. He remembered the last time that he had seen Coulson, the last day that he had seen his team, his friends, his family. Or at least, that is what he pretended they were to him, for many months. He did a good job of fooling them; he knew that because he nearly fooled himself too. He nearly believed that he had a home there.

'Agent Ward.' Coulson pulled out the chair opposite Ward and took a seat, trying to capture Wards eye. Instead, Ward focused his eyes across the room.

'It's been awhile.' He stated. Ward made no attempt to acknowledge that he heard him.

'Four months.' Coulson continued, 'They told me that you got your voice back. The damage was not permanent. I guess that means that we can get straight to the point. I need some hydra intel, more specifically, I need a list of everyone that was associated with them. I can't rebuild an agency that you helped bring down without knowing the traitors in our mists. I know that Garrett had a lot of people working under him and most were shield agents, like yourself, that had inside knowledge. It was what made us an easy target.'

Coulson anticipated a reaction, or a response. After a long moment of unresponsiveness, he proceeded to talk. 'You know, you did a lot of damage. I'm not talking about the damage to Shield even though you helped bring it down, but I'm talking damage to the team. Emotionally, you ruined them. Fitz is different.' The sound of Fitz's name brought Wards eyes straight up to Coulson. 'He has these brief moments where he opens his mouth, but he can't get words out. It is a side effect of the coma that you caused when you threw him out that plane like trash. But, you know what he did say, he told me that you saved him, that you dropped them out the sky, in order to save them. You almost killed the boy and he is still in your corner.' Grant looked away, down at his hands. 'You broke my team, my family.'

'What do you want?' Grant finally spoke, his voice raspy.

'He does talk. You head me the first time. I want the names. In return, I'll make sure that the plans for your torture are abolished. Just so you know, there were plans to torture the information out of you once you got your voice back, a lot of people want answers from you, but I thought that I would give you a chance, if not for Shield, then for Fitz, and for Skye.' The sound of her name caused a sharp pain deep inside Ward. A pain that even a physical one couldn't beat.

'In return,' Coulson paused momentarily, 'I am going to transfer you to a treatment center in Switzerland.' Couslon announced. Ward's confusion was evident on his face.

'My voice is healed.' He answered him.

'It's not about your voice, it's more about healing your soul, giving you a chance to prove that there is a human, a decent human inside there.' He points to his chest. 'It's a facility that deals with your situation, emotional and physical abuse on people that have in turn caused them to act out. In other words, it's a shrink's paradise and you have a place there.'

'No thanks.' Grant shrugged, turning his head away from him. He didn't need fixing, there was nothing wrong, or at least that is what he told himself every day. But, he knew better.

'I figured you would say that. That is why I am giving you a day, one day, to decide whether you want to change, if you want to be a better person, if you want to be the person that Fitz believes you are, the one that he defends every day, then you have that chance. But, it ends tomorrow; I wash my hands of you tomorrow.'

'I don't need to be counselled.'

'I know your file, Ward, I studied it, I know the family you come from, and I know the man that pulled you from a bad situation, but he didn't save you, Ward. He took you from one bad place to another.'

'He believed in me.' Grant's voice became raspier. The desperation pouring from his voice, desperation to believe that Garrett did care, that he never gave up everything for him for no reason.

'You know who believed in you? Fitz. You know who else believe in you, Skye. That girl came from nothing, from home after home, being tossed around and feeling like she had no home, but she put her faith in you, to teach her, to guide her, as her SO. You know, for the last four months I have spent just reliving every moment of you on my team, teaching Skye, jumping and saving Simmons, bonding and laughing with the team, playing board games, going on missions, even rescuing me. You didn't just play a role, Ward, you became the role, I truly believe that. I am not forgetting what you did, I never can, I see it everytime I look at Fitz, but there needs to be something done, if not for you but for that scared fifteen year old that Garrett manipulated. '

'Why?' Ward could not understand any of this. He didn't know if he wanted to. It took him back to the cargo hold with Skye, training, when she told him that hoping for something and losing it, hurts more than never hoping for anything. He couldn't hope for redemption, because he couldn't face that he may never be the man that his team believed he was. The truth was, that he was a monster, just like Skye believed. He couldn't do it, break the cycle, it was not inside him, because that would mean that he would need to become weak, just like Garrett always told him.

'I keep hearing that you had so many chances, to be good, but I disagree, I don't think anyone gave you a chance at all, but I am going to give you that chance. You give me those names and then we can discuss this further. I can have you out of here by tomorrow. But, you can't do it for Fitz, or Skye, they can motivate you, because they are two people I know that you care about, though you hurt them, but you need to do it for yourself.' Coulson got up and took one last look at the man in front of him, a man that was broken and stuck inside his own darkness. If this didn't make him change then at least he tried, but Coulson couldn't live knowing that he didn't give that fifteen year old kid a fair chance, because deep down inside, he knew that scared kid still lived in Ward, he believed that if only he got to Ward first, and he needed to be given a chance to prove to himself that he could be a decent being.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN**

**Thank you for the reviews. I hope you enjoy it.**

The door of the visiting room opened. The light from the outer hallway shone through. Coulson entered finding himself starring at his former team member and friend. Ward had not yet looked up and Coulson took a moment to really take in Grant Ward. He looked different. It wasn't just that he was a different person to him now, he was no longer just a broken soldier that fought for good, he was just broken, but he looked physically different. Facial hair covered his once handsome and chiseled face and his physicality was slumped, as opposed to the soldier stance that Ward used to wear. Coulson remained standing as he stood in front of the interrogation table.

'Did you make your decision?'

There was no response as Ward continued to look down at the table. There was a dark shadow under his eye caused by a fight between Ward and another inmate. Coulson took note of that. He didn't want Ward tortured. He may have threatened bodily harm on him when they arrested him but it wasn't in his nature to turn an eye to that.

'I don't have all day, Agent Ward.' Coulson remained calm.

'I'm not an agent.' Ward replied.

It had been an entire day since Coulson gave Ward his ultimatum. At first Ward thought nothing of it. He had nothing to consider. Did he really care about Shield? They were just as bad as Hydra. He remembered missions when they gave him no extractions and let him fend for himself. They were hypocritical and would sacrifice their own for their causes.

Did he feel remorse over Agent Hand? No. She had no conundrums about killing the team when they got to the hub. She didn't care that Coulson was being tortured by Raina. She had been fine to kill Garrett. Would the world really miss Victoria Hand? Did he feel remorse over sleeping with May to get her off his trial? No. She initiated it and they both got something out of that. How could he admit he was wrong about these things when he felt no remorse?

'There is someone that wanted to see you.' Coulson looked towards the door. Ward followed his gaze. He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. He didn't bother even wondering about his visitor, his guests usually consisted of guards, interrogators and Coulson.

The door flung open revealing a face that Ward never expected to see, one that haunted him at night. A face of someone that Ward tried to not think of.

'Can I get a minute alone with him?' A strong accent filled the room.

'That's not a good idea, Fitz.'

'I am fine.' He turned to his boss and nodded at him.

Coulson reluctantly nodded after giving himself a moment to think it through. He sighed and nodded at the young scientist.

'I'll be right outside if you need me.'

The door closed firmly as Fitz took a seat in the chair opposite. Ward refused to look at him, instead focusing his eyes on the table. He could not meet his face.

It felt like hours that they sat there, silently as though they had never spoken before.

'I'm ok.' Fitz broke the silence between them. Ward inwardly cringed at his words. He knew that if he was not ok, that it was all on him, and it was one of the things that kept him up at nights. It was one of the things that he felt some kind of remorse. He thought back to the last time he saw Fitz. He was begging him. Everyone had given up on him and there was Fitz, telling him that there was good in him. Believing in him and even going up against Garrett for him. He remembered his words. Fitz wanted Garrett to be left to die to free Ward. He never knew of anyone that fought for him the way that Fitz did and what did he do in return? He broke him. He couldn't let himself hurt him again.

'Ever since I woke up I feel that all I have done is reassure people that I'm ok. Simmons stopped asking me. I had a right go at her one time and made her cry. I felt really bad afterwards but I couldn't stand being asked that.' Fitz continued to talk. Ward wondered if that was one of the side effects of his coma that Coulson mentioned. Maybe he was having outbursts. Fitz never yelled at Simmons. He loved her even if he never admitted it. Ward tried in the base to give him advice and to just tell Simmons how he felt about her. Fitz never told him but he knew how his friend felt towards her. He would never yell at her if he could help it. Guilt filled him.

'The bus is fixed. It's as good as new. They even put new functions on there. It's pretty cool. We got an upgraded holo table too. You still wouldn't be able to use it. Skye tried it, she hated it.' Ward listened intently, feeling tightness in his chest.

'Mays her new SO. They do that tai chi stuff every morning. Between you and me, I think she had more fun with you. They don't even play board games.'

'Fitz...' Ward didn't want to hear anymore. Feelings that he shut out crept up on him. Memories that he didn't want to think about consumed him in that moment.

'It's not the same, now without you.' Ward finally brought his eyes to Fitzs. He looked at the guy he thought of a friend, sometimes a brother. He had a faint line of stubble on his face. He looked, older.

'What are you doing here, Fitz?' Wards voice was weak. It was a struggle for him to get the words out.

'I overheard Coulson talking about the offer he gave you yesterday. I wasn't suppose to know. No one on the bus does. I told him that I wouldn't tell anyone if he let me see you.' Ward smirked at the thought of Fitz blackmailing Coulson.

'Why?'

'Why what?'

'Why did you want to see me?'

'Because I wanted you to know that I don't blame you.'

'You should.' He took a breath and leaned forward. 'Garrett told me to get rid of you and I threw you off the plane. You should blame me.'

'You didn't want to hurt us.'

'I threw you from the plane. How could you not see that I wanted to hurt you.' Ward wanted to shake him as he slammed his hand on the table.

'Because you could have shot us then. You could have just let death lock or one of the others shoot us, but you saved us.'

'I let you drown.' He yelled.

'You and I both know that pod was meant to float.' Fitz yelled back. Ward blinked.

'Come on, Ward. If you are going to try and make me hate you then just give up. It's not going to happen. You knew that pod was meant to float, you and I spoke about it months ago. You asked me exactly how that thing worked and you even knew that it had a tracker. Why not shoot us? Because you care.' Fitz voice began to break as he looked at the man he looked up to. A man that saved his life, jumped out of a plane to save Simmons, the man that he went of a mission with and refused to leave him behind.

'You need to go, Fitz. Walk away and just be grateful that you are alive.'

'I'm alive because of you.'

'Enough.' Wards voice echoed.

'You know what, enough from you. I am trying to make you understand that you are not alone. You have good in you. You can choose to be good and to make amends. Can you not just accept that? You owe me that at least. You did some bad things, Ward. You hurt a lot of people and I'm not talking just physically. I know that you care. You care about me and Simmons. And Skye. Doesn't she deserve the best version of you?' He reasoned.

Ward thought about her. His rookie. His funny, smart and stubborn rookie that knew how to put a smile on his face. He thought about their time in that closet. How in that moment he desperately wanted to be the boring, black kevlar, robot that she knew. The one she teased and fought with and played board games with. That guy had his flaws but at least got a chance with her, he could have been good for her. But then he remembered that guy didn't exist.

'Skye deserves a good SO, a good mentor that she can trust.' Ward told Fitz.

'You can still be that guy. He doesn't have to be just a cover. He is not a cover. I was there. I saw you. I spent time as your team member, your friend. That wasn't an act. You saving Simmons and helping to find Coulson wasn't an act. I saw your face when Skye was shot. That wasn't an act. That was you terrified of losing someone that you care about because you learned to care, just like we cared for you. That's why I'm here. Do what you need to and sort yourself out, because we deserve to have that guy and you deserve to have a family that expects nothing from you but your love and support and we were that. We are your family. Do it for the people that loved you Ward. Not the ones that made you do bad things. But the people that cared for stood and took a look at Ward, before walking out and being replaced with Coulson.

'Ok Ward, I really need your decision.'


End file.
